Falling Slowly?
by le blah
Summary: She would look back on that day and smile at the irony. Who would have guessed their relationship would start out so literally? Hell, who would have guessed they'd have a relationship at all? AU KakaSaku
1. Brand New Start

_All this time they had me thinking: love's a boat that's long been sinking._

_But you made the claim that taking a chance is embracing the change_

_I count my blessings knowing you will take me home._

_Love won't bring me down, oh no._

___

Much later, she would look back on it and smile at the irony. Of course, it had all probably started much earlier- God knows it had with her- but still. It was just one of those moments that stuck.

Sakura Haruno was a senior at Konoha High. This was her year, she thought, her year to shine. This was supposed to be the best year of her life, or at least, one of them. She had been simultaneously dreading and looking forward to this since freshman year. The dread stemmed from the weight of so many expectations; the excitement was self-explanatory.

Senior year. She laughed giddily as she walked out to the car she shared with her mother, a green Toyota. The time of day (7:00) didn't even bother her, she was too pumped. This was gonna be great.

She pulled out of the driveway, put her iPod on Shuffle, and took the familiar old route to school. She had barely parked and left the car when she was bowled over by an energetic, overenthusiastic, happy face.

"Mmmff...Naruto! What have I told you about knocking people on their asses?! Seriously! Just a hug would do it..." Despite her annoyed appearance, she couldn't help but laugh. Her blonde buddy was just too damn lovable to stay mad at for too long, she mused, which would definitely help him on his quest to be Homecoming King.

"Sakura! I've missed you SOOO MUCH! AAHHHH! SO MUCH. How long has it been?! We HAVE to go out to lunch today and catch up!" Sakura laughed again.

"Naruto...we hung out last weekend."

"Yeah, but Sasuke was there so it doesn't count! It's no fun when he's killing all the joy with his angst, you know?"

"Well yeah, that and you challenging him to an arm-wrestling match every 30 seconds does make it kind of difficult to talk..."

Naruto beamed. "So does that mean we can go out to lunch today? Huh? Does it?!" Sakura sighed and smiled. She didn't know how Naruto managed it; despite being an orphan, he was always so upbeat..."Yeah. Well actually, I'm not making any promises for today. But definitely sometime this week."

The bell interrupted their conversation shrilly, and Sakura jumped. "Shit! I didn't realize we'd been talking for so long! Come on Naruto, we have to go get our schedules in Homeroom!"

With that, the two friends headed into the large brick building.


	2. Mr Columbus

_When you run right into something_

_They said you'd never find_

_You gotta ask yourself if it ain't all inside your mind._

_But I see it and I believe it; there ain't no great divide._

___

Sakura was sprinting behind Naruto towards her homeroom classroom when it happened. Her foot (clad in new, cute sneakers that she was quite proud of, actually), caught on some invisible crack in the floor. She teetered for a second. Naruto plowed ahead, completely oblivious. And then, Sakura started crashing forward.

She winced and closed her eyes, anticipating the impact. However, it was a lot more....comfortable than she had expected?

"Mmm, ground's gotten...softer since last year?" She opened her eyes, and found herself staring into the mismatched ones of her History teacher from sophomore year, Mr. Hatake. That's when she realized he was holding her, and that her face was half buried into his chest. And that he smelled nice. She blinked and blushed (she had had somewhat of a crush on him in 10th grade that apparently hadn't quite disappeared).

"Late as usual I see, Haruno," he noted in an amused tone of voice. She smirked; clearly their relationship hadn't changed much in the past two years. "I could say the same to you, Hatake," she teased. "And, you can probably put me down now; I might fall again, but I'd say it's worth the risk."

He chuckled. "If you say so. But I'd watch my step if I were you- these floors can be pretty deadly."

"So I've noticed," she remarked dryly. "But then- don't you have a class to teach right now? You should probably get on that...unless you're too busy being the school's latest superhero. Which, of course, I'm okay with."

She had always enjoyed their banter, even though sometimes she would cross the line and embarrass herself. She ran her hand through her pink hair, something she was often teased about, and reminisced a little. Ah, sophomore year...those were the good old days.

"You know, as much as I'd love to stay here and make fun of you, you're right- I do have a class to attend to. Several, actually. And, as a matter of fact-" he checked the roster tucked under his arm- "you happen to be in one of them. On that note, you've got a schedule to pick up, so if I were you, I'd take care of that. See you in...3rd period." With that, he left.

Sakura grinned. She had always enjoyed the classes taught by the enigmatic young (old? She wasn't entirely sure) man, although they were a lot of work. In fact, he was one of the biggest hardasses when it came to grading, that she had ever encountered. Still, she had learned an incredible amount, and was elated about having him again this year. Plus, he always wore that annoying mask- maybe she'd finally find out what he looked like underneath it.

She kept smiling as she walked towards her homeroom class, despite her tardiness. This was going to be a good year.

---

Just FYI- every chapter will start with song lyrics, and the chapter titles are the titles of the songs. Hopefully this'll work out...haha. Anyway, the first chapter was by Little Joy (a sort-of offspring of The Strokes; I recommend them highly, very upbeat) and the song for this chapter was by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals.


	3. Learning to Fly

_I'm learning to fly, around the clouds_

_But what goes up must come down_

_I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings_

_Coming down is the hardest thing_

___

"Not off to a great start, are we Sakura?" The girl just smiled while the head of the Science department berated her. "Come on, you've been such a model student...don't start slacking just because it's senior year. Now, get out of here- 1st period has already started!" Tsunade, her homeroom/Anatomy teacher, pushed her out of the door without a note. "I'll see you 5th period! And you'd better be on time!"

Sakura just sighed. Sure, she didn't mind being late to Homeroom, especially because she was already pretty close to Tsunade- on a first name basis, in fact. From an early age, Sakura decided she wanted to go into medicine, and Tsunade was a rather illustrious doctor before she got back into teaching. She had numerous offers from prestigious universities, but the Vice Principle and English 12 teacher of Konoha High, Mr. Jiraiya, was an old friend. Long story short, Tsunade had been Sakura's science teacher for the past two years.

She checked her schedule and sighed again. English first period- and on the 3rd floor, too. What a pain. And- oh God, her teacher was Mr. Jiraiya! He was a rather notorious pervert...she groaned. Maybe this wouldn't be such an easy year...

---

After being humiliated in front of the whole class by Mr. Jiraiya for her lateness, Sakura slunk into the second-to-last row. Luckily, there was an empty seat next to her best/worst friend, Ino, who leaned over and whispered "Well, this should be....interesting..."

Sakura just rolled her eyes and sunk down further into her chair, a feat which the guy sitting behind her wouldn't have believed was possible if he hadn't seen it for himself. Ino snatched Sakura's schedule and compared them.

"Ooh, you have 3rd period History with Mr. Hatake? I am soo jealous! He's a total studmuffin! Oh but look- we have gym together next! And lunch! Awesome!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at her friend. "God, you're almost as energetic as Naruto. Maybe you two should get together." Ino made a face in disgust. "No way, forehead. I'm aiming higher- you should know that."

Sakura found herself rolling her eyes a lot around Ino. "'Aiming higher'"? So you're into taller guys now, is that what you're saying?"

Ino groaned. "No! God Sakura, I have to explain everything around here-" Jiraiya cleared his throat loudly from the front of the room.

"I'd hate to disrupt this scintillating discussion, especially by ladies as lovely as yourselves," he said with a wink, "but I'm trying to teach here, so if you don't mind, I'd prefer to do it without background noise."

---

"Wow, that was easily the worst first impression I've ever made," Sakura said despairingly. Ino just shook her head. "Sakura, you care too much about what people think of you. Seriously, have you ever taken a risk, once in your life?"

Sakura stopped and stared. "Hey, Ino-pig, look who's talking. You've probably made more stupid decisions just this summer than everyone in the whole school combined. Just because I don't do the first random thing that pops into my head, doesn't mean I'm afraid to do something a little out there. Okay?!"

Ino blinked and smirked a little. "Looks like I struck a nerve...come on Sakura, who do you think you're fooling? You might have tried alcohol once or twice, or lied to your parents about doing homework or something, but you know that's not what I mean." She didn't give Sakura any time to respond, just tucked her sleek blonde hair behind her ear and started walking.

"Come on Forehead, you don't want to be late to gym too, do you?"

___

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers


	4. Fa Fa

_When you look in the mirror, wish you were somebody else_

_Just a perfect reflection, you and no one else_

_Minutes run into hours, hours run into days._

_You're still waiting for someone who never came._

___

Gym was uneventful, although Sakura was shocked by her teacher.

"I didn't think...I didn't think adults behaved like that. I mean, we're almost adults, but he... I mean, he..."

Her teacher, Mr. Gai, was sort of like Naruto after a couple Red Bulls, combined with one of those cheesy quote books. It had never even occurred to Sakura that a person that ridiculous existed.

She didn't spend too much time dwelling on it though, because although she hated to admit it even to herself, she was really excited for History. AP Modern World. History had always been one of her favorite subjects, and Mr. Hatake one of her favorite teachers. In sophomore year, she almost thought she was in love with him. However, she had had a bad experience with a detached, cool senior named Sasuke in her freshman year (it still hurt a little bit to think about him). So she was still feeling pretty jaded about that during 10th grade, and decided to just ignore the nagging little voice in her head in the hopes that it would go away with time.

She wasn't completely sure why she kept denying it so vehemently. It wasn't like she had ever told anyone about it, or even hinted about her feelings. So what was she so afraid of? Maybe Ino was right...maybe she was too risk-averse. She brushed the thought away as she entered the classroom. She could worry about that later.

Mr. Hatake was sitting on a stool in the front of the room. Sakura noticed a seat between Shikamaru and Hinata. She smiled at them and sat down. "So, you guys excited?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I'm not sure...I've heard this class is pretty hard...I might have to switch down to Honors if it's too much work."

Sakura laughed. Clearly nothing had changed with the lazy genius. He could probably ace this class with little effort, but the idea of exerting any at all undoubtedly kept him up at night. She was about to strike up a conversation with the shy girl on her left when the bell rang. She looked at the front of the room expectantly.

"All right guys, I'm going to keep the introduction short because by now you should all know the drill." The students smiled appreciatively. "I'm Mr. Hatake, as you all know. This is AP, as in "advanced placement" World History, and you will all be expected to take the AP exam in May. I know you've been told it's optional, but let me put it this way: unless you're interested in failing this class, you'll take the test."

Sakura exchanged an amused glance with Shikamaru. Normally Mr. Hatake didn't really care about the tests- he always said it wasn't the rules and tests that were really important, it was the learning that took place. But then, he was a pretty unconventional teacher in general, even in appearance. This was a pretty eccentric school, but even in a hallway full of hipsters, his messy silver hair and the mask that covered most of his face was rather out of place. It contrasted with his well-dressed appearance, and drew attention to him. Nobody knew why he wore the mask, so naturally everybody had a different theory.

Equally amusing was his chronic lateness and nonchalance. As he was speaking, he pulled out a roster. "This is the only day of this class where we aren't going to do anything. I'll take attendance, and then you're free to do what you want for the rest of the time. But starting tomorrow, we're buckling down; nose to the grindstone and whatnot."

He proceeded to take attendance, and then went to his computer and started watching porn. Sakura giggled, Hinata was mortified, and Shikamaru was...asleep. Unfortunately, it was at that moment that Ino's words came back to Sakura. _"When have you ever taken a real risk? ...Come on, who do you think you're fooling?" _

She turned to ask Hinata her opinion, Ino's accusations ringing in her head. Hinata thought about it for a second, and then responded tactfully.

"W-well, maybe it's not that you're af-afraid of taking a risk. Maybe you've j-just been w-waiting for the right opportunity. M-maybe what you need to d-d-do is take the initiative yourself. That's what I did with Naruto," she added with a blush. They had been going out for a year now, thanks to Hinata finally mustering the courage to ask him out herself.

Sakura stared. "Hinata, that's brilliant! I think you're right!"

Hinata smiled shyly. "S-so now I guess you just have to d-decide what you want to do."

Sakura stared into space for a while. "Well, I have sort of always wanted to play a sport...but the only sports I'm any good at are soccer and tennis. And I don't even like tennis that much..."

Hinata's smile widened. "B-but that's perfect! M-Mr. Hatake seems to like you, and he-he's the soccer coach! So you should talk to him, and s-see what he th-thinks!"

Sakura glanced at him. He was still in the corner in front of the computer, staring at his porn and giggling. A half smile crossed her face. "Yeah...maybe you're right, Hinata. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Soccer. That'll show Ino-pig..."

___

Guster


	5. Change Your Mind

_A siren screams at half past ten, and you won't let go_

_While I ignore, that we both felt this way before._

_So if the answer is no,_

_Can I change your mind?_

___

The bell rang to signal the end of class.

'Finally...' thought Sakura. She wasn't sure why, but she was a little nervous. Especially if Kakashi was as much of hardass when it came to coaching, as he was at teaching.

She waited until the small cluster of kids at his desk had dissipated, and then walked up awkwardly. "Um...hey." 'What am I, 12?' she thought disgustedly. 'Be a little more timid, Sakura, why don't you. And while you're at it, start blushing too. Yeah, you're so mature.'

She finally gathered up the courage to continue. "So, I'm interested in doing a sport. Soccer, actually. And I knew you were the soccer coach, so...uh, being the brilliant person that I am, I decided I would, um, talk to you about it."

'Nearly painless...' Inner Sakura sighed with relief. Kakashi blinked at her. "Have you ever played before?"

'Oh...' Sakura hadn't really considered that. "Well, uh...until 6th grade, yeah. But, I'm pretty athletic. And it's my favorite sport." She congratulated herself for at least making a decent case. 'Suck on that, Ino!' Inner Sakura muttered proudly.

Kakashi rubbed his eyes. "Well, I'm actually the Varsity soccer coach. But I assume you wouldn't want to do JV anyway, because it'll be mostly freshmen. Varsity tryouts are in 2 months, so if you're interested, you should start training."

Sakura scratched her neck awkwardly and bit her lip. "Uh..." Kakashi noticed she looked discouraged. "I tell you what. I'm free for the next couple Saturdays. How about we meet at the lower field around 2, and I'll help you get ready?"

Sakura looked surprised. "Really? You'd do that? Wow, thanks a lot!" Kakashi laughed. "That was surprisingly genuine; quick- make a smartass remark!" Sakura blushed. "Okay- I never thought the day would come when I'd actually be glad about your lack of social life."

The bell rang again, interrupting their banter. "Crap!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Don't worry about it," Kakashi said. "I'll write you a pass."

Sakura smiled. "Seriously though, thanks a lot. I owe you. Anyway, I'd better run." Kakashi just shook his head, watching her leave. Nice ass...what?! He shook his head again, harder this time, and then turned back to his porn, trying to erase that thought from his mind.

---

Sakura ran into her 4th period, Spanish, and breathlessly apologized to her teacher, Mr. Asuma. She noticed that Ino had saved her a seat, which she slid into gratefully. Ino smirked at her knowingly. "Stayed after with Mr. Hatake, huh. Finally get to see what's under that mask? Lucky, lucky girl..." Sakura blushed, and almost forgot to gloat about what had just happened.

"Hey Pig, remember how you said I never take risks? Well guess what..." Ino's eyes grew large and round. "You didn't..." she said in a tone of utter disbelief.

"I did," said Sakura smugly. "I asked to join the soccer team, and now I'm gonna train with him for a couple hours every Saturday." Ino stared at her in incredulity, and then burst out laughing.

"You think that's taking a risk? Oh man, you're way more innocent than I thought! My God, have you even kissed a guy?! What would be taking a real risk, would be trying to seduce him while training or something. Ohhh, Sakura..."

Sakura glared. "Hey, just because it wasn't sexual didn't mean- that is...Ino, why would I take a risk if I'm not interested in the results?" Ino snorted. "Yeah right. I know for a fact you've had a major crush on Hatake since 10th grade."

Sakura blushed, for what seemed like the billionth time today, and cursed her pale complexion. "Damn it Ino, it's not that simple! Not only is he almost twice my age, but he's my teacher! He could get fired for that kind of thing? Remember what happened to Orochimaru?" Ino stared. "Forehead, that was totally different. He was a sicko. Besides, you're 18. It's not illegal."

Sakura sighed in defeat. "It's socially unacceptable...and I mean, it's not like he feels that way about me anyway. It doesn't make a difference."

Ino stared, then laughed bitterly. "Doesn't make a difference? Sakura, you've had a crush on the guy for 2 years! Besides, I definitely caught him checking you out a couple times last year. And this is the perfect opportunity! I'm not asking that you do anything stupid. Just...just try, okay? For the sake of every desperate single girl in the world. Give it a shot. Come on..." she made a puppy dog face at Sakura, and then added a "Pwease?" just for good measure.

She took Sakura's head thumping on the desk as a sign of victory. "Pig, I can't believe you're actually talking me into this..." The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted her pity party.

"Girls...por favor.." Mr. Asuma looked annoyed.

'Great,' thought Sakura. 'So I'm 3 for 4 on pissed off teachers...and it's the first day of school. _Okay_....'

___

The Killers


	6. About a Girl

_I need an easy friend_

_I do, with an ear to lend_

_I do think you fit this shoe_

_I do, won't you have a clue_

___

Sakura sighed and collapsed on her bed. What a day. Clearly, nothing had changed in terms of her feelings about her enigmatic History teacher.

'Great...' she thought. 'I just _love _brooding. But god dammit, why can't I ever go for guys I can actually have? Do I secretly enjoy being stomped on, or keeping pathetically quiet and storing all my real feelings in a dark corner of my mind? Freshman year was bad enough...and since then, although I've been lucky enough to go out with a few guys, I've never actually liked them the way they liked me. Urgh...and now I feel all shallow.'

She rolled onto her side and planned on taking a nap when her cell phone started vibrating. She grabbed it and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Sakura. Sorry to bother you, but Ino said you wanted to talk? Something about starting training today instead of this Saturday, to get a head start?"

She froze in surprise. It was Kakashi. 'Crap crap crap crap crap shit I am going to fucking murder Ino. Oh my God. Shit shit shit shit.' She realized he was still patiently waiting for her to say something and blushed. "Um. Uh, yeah."

'Brilliant, Sakura. "Uh, yeah." You deserve an Oscar, really. What a beautiful performance.'

She smacked herself in the forehead and flipped onto her other side. "Yeah, well, I was thinking, and... I mean, it's been a really long time since I've played soccer. So I thought if it was okay with you, maybe we could get started today? Just to see...to see whether it's even worth it to bother."

There was a small pause, and Sakura hit herself in the head repeatedly. Worth it? That was the best she could come up with?! Augh....a slow and painful death suddenly sounded quite appealing.

"Sure. That sounds like a good idea. But, even if you don't think you'll make the try-outs, if you love the sport...isn't it worth it anyway?"

"Ahahaha um, Hatake, I don't know how to say this, but.... are you secretly Amy, from the 'Ask Amy' help column in the Post? Because that would explain a lot..."

"Tch, Sakura...what a cheap shot. And here I was trying to be nice; guess it's just wasted on some people. Oh, and call me Kakashi."

She sat up in surprise. The cool teachers at school were fine with kids leaving off the "Mr.", but a first name basis....wow. She blushed. Again. 'Maybe I have some condition, or something...'

"Sakura?"

"Oh uh, sorry...crappy cell phone connection. Um, yeah, cool. So should I meet you at the field in, like, a half hour?"

There was a brief pause. Then- "Yeah, sure. See you there."

"Yeah, see you. And, thanks a lot."

"Ha. No problem, Sakura."

"Bye, Hata- uh, Kakashi."

"Bye."

---

Ino shrieked. "MY PLAN WORKED! AHAHA, I'M A GENIUS, I KNEW IT!"

"Great, pig, now you can grow up to be a relationship counselor. I'm _so _jealous. And by that I mean, what the HELL were you thinking? You realize if I weren't so goshdarn quick on my feet, I would've ended up looking like a total moron? Are you TRYING to give me gray hair? Not that it would clash with my pink or anything, but still! I'd like to finish high school heart attack-free, thanks!"

Ino smirked. There were 20 minutes before Sakura had to meet Kakashi. Apparently Ino had driven to Sakura's house after lying to Kakashi, and waited for the phone call to end before walking in, demanding to know exactly how it had gone.

"Well, Forehead? I hope you at least _tried _to flirt a little bit...oh God, you really are hopeless."

Sakura buried her face into her hands. "We are definitely having a little chat about something called boundaries later tonight...but now I have to get ready to go. So, that's your cue to leave."

Ino laughed. She was used to Sakura's sarcasm, it didn't faze her at all. "I'll call you around six-ish tonight, maybe we can go out for dinner. And, you're telling me everything. I mean it. Every single detail."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "We'll see..."

---

Sakura jogged to the field behind Konoha High, and checked her watch. Right on time. She looked around and rolled her eyes. 'Of course he's late..." she thought. She smirked and lay down, staring at the clouds. 'Ha...looks like I've been spending a little too much time with Shikamaru..."

She was almost drifting into a doze when she heard footsteps behind her. "You're late...shocking." she accused him lazily. She stretched, sat up, and turned around, and was promptly at a loss for what to say.

He normally dressed rather nicely, in button-down long sleeve shirts and jeans, and the occasional T-shirt. However (and she couldn't blame him- it was hella hot), this afternoon he had apparently opted for something more comfortable. And, comfortable means tight wifebeater, which nicely accentuated the muscles Sakura didn't have any idea existed.

To summarize: Damn. 'He's ripped?!?! Ahaha this is great...and I routinely insult his lack of sex life...good thing I'm not Ino, or I'd be drooling, which would make this way more embarrassing than it already is.'

"So," Kakashi said awkwardly (it had been a pretty long silence, to be fair). "Should we begin?"

___

Nirvana.


	7. 1940

_Something's wrong when you regret_

_Things that haven't happened yet_

_But it's a glorious day when morning comes_

_Without the feeling of alarm_

_So rise and shine;_

_Now's the time to be alive. _

___

Sakura's breath was coming out in short, sharp gasps. She was embarrassed by her obvious lack of stamina- only 3 laps around the field (about 3/4ths of a mile) and she was already done.

"Maybe- maybe I should be a goalie," she huffed. Kakashi, jogging easily next to her, just laughed. "You wish. Come on, we're almost done with the 4th lap, and then we can take a break."

She rolled her eyes, annoyed at her own weakness, and willed her legs to pump harder and her lungs to cooperate. She briefly considered giving them a pep talk, but decided against it, thinking wisely that it would only expend more of what little air she had left.

What she hated the most about running was how there was nothing else to focus on except her own feet pounding against the ground. It felt like she wasn't getting anywhere, was moving agonizingly slowly, and was painfully weak. Luckily, it was easier for her when she had some motivation- if she could stay even with Kakashi, she could sneak glances at his toned body.

'Awkward...but still, damn! Who knew? Oh man, Ino's gonna explode when I tell her about this...'

She almost started laughing, and Kakashi shot her a concerned glance. She just stuck out her tongue and tried to run faster. Finally, she finished the lap and collapsed on the grass.

"That was embarrassing," she panted. The grass was tickling her cheek, but she felt like her limbs had turned into stone. "You sure you still want to help me train?"

Kakashi looked like he was smirking under the mask (she could never be sure though...damned nuisance). "I love a challenge."

Sakura snorted. "Good. Otherwise this definitely wouldn't happen." She pushed herself up to a sitting position, promptly decided it wasn't worth the effort, and flopped back down. "I'm hopeless."

She stiffened in surprise as Kakashi lay down beside her. "No you aren't. You've got plenty of time before the tryouts. I've got faith in you."

"God knows why," she added, laughing. "Clearly you've got a thing for hopeless cases. Like trying to make Shikamaru less lazy, Hinata less shy, and Naruto less loud? I'm just another thing on your to-do list." She proceeded to realize how little sense that made, and how awkwardly phrased it was, and turned bright pink.

Kakashi rolled onto his side, leaning over her a little, and smirked again. "Believe me, Naruto is _not _on my "to-do" list." She smiled at his nearness and his insinuations. "And Shikamaru and Hinata are? I'm offended Kakashi...all this time I thought we had something special, just you and me." They both laughed, and the awkward, barely existent sexual tension seemed to diffuse, as Kakashi rolled onto his back once again.

"Alright, since there's clearly more to soccer than running, and we've had a nice break...let's get going."

---

An hour and a half later, Sakura was coated in a sheen of sweat (it was 85 degrees out, for crying out loud) and panting hard. As she had predicted, Kakashi was as much of a hardass on the field as he was in the classroom, if not more. They had been training nonstop, first with Sakura playing offense, then defense, then goalie. And then, more laps. Lather, rinse, repeat.

She ran a hand through her probably disgusting-looking hair and tensed up as Kakashi approached (they were on the 3rd and final cycle of the brutal training, and Sakura was in goal). He faked to the left and shot at a sharp angle to the right. He had done this several times before; she was anticipating the move, and caught it easily.

"Ha! You'll have to do better than that, or I'll start to think all this exercise has worn you out. After all, you are an old man...I wouldn't be surprised-" Kakashi cut Sakura's teasing short by walking up to her and pushing her against the goalpost jokingly. "Hey, who you calling old? You wanna fight or something?"

She laughed in his face and wiped her sweaty forehead. "Well hey, maybe I do, huh? What're you gonna do? An old man like you wouldn't stand a chance." They stood there grinning at each other stupidly for a second, and then Kakashi grabbed the ball from her arms and ran off with it, calling "Catch me if you can" over his shoulder like a maniacal two year old.

Sakura wasted no time deliberating, and sped after him. He had a good 15 feet on her, but he was laughing, so she caught up easily and tackled him automatically. They rolled on the ground for a couple minutes laughing breathlessly before they finally settled down next to each other smiling. "Hey," Kakashi said. "You sure you didn't mean you wanted to go out for football? Because that was some tackle."

Sakura grinned. "Heh, sorry. I wasn't really thinking. I should've considered that I could've hurt a fragile old man- mmpf!! MMPF!" Kakashi put his hand over her mouth and laughed again. "Ah...much better." Sakura "mmph"-ed indignantly, and turned her head to look at him. He moved his hand off, dragging it across her cheek a little, and met her eyes. They were unreadable, she thought. She was so tempted to reach out and drag his mask off, but suddenly she heard a familiar loud, obnoxious tune.

"Oh, uh, my cell phone...Shit! It's almost 6 already! I gotta go!" She sat up and looked at him, a little drowsy from all the exercise and the hot sun. "But wow. That was incredible. I can't believe how better I am already. I'm starting to think I actually have a chance. Also, we totally just had a moment right there. In other news, I need to start thinking before I speak."

She turned pink, but met his eyes. He just chuckled and stretched, revealing that, much to Sakura's interest, his hair color was indeed natural. Not that she was big on sweaty armpit hair or painfully spliced sentences; it was just a point of intrigue for her. It also meant that she won a fairly large sum of money- there was a betting pool that had been going on since sophomore year.

Sakura stood up and offered Kakashi, who was currently brooding over his predicament (wait, a crush on Sakura? This is not okay) a hand, and then they stood there at a loss for words and actions, scratching the backs of their heads for a while. "So, I'll see you tomorrow...?" Sakura offered (she was never one to thrive in awkwardness). "Yeah. Mmm, I'm looking forward to a shower..." Sakura laughed, and they headed to the parking lot together, chatting idly.

"So, Kakashi, how _do _you get your hair like that?"

___

The Morning Benders (a cover of The Submarines' song- both good bands. Um.)


	8. Shattered

_In a way, I need a change,_

_From this burnout scene_

_Another time, another town,_

_Another everything;_

_But it's always back to you._

_____

Sakura didn't really know what to think. She found it difficult to believe a whole school week had already gone by. Although she hated to admit it, she had spent most of the week going over that practice with Kakashi in her head. In class, everything was the same as always. He made fun of everyone liberally, and didn't hesitate to hand out bad grades where they were deserved. But she liked to think that practice session was something special. It was as though it had been a parallel world in which they could actually be friends, or even maybe more than that.

But invariably Sakura would come back to earth, musing bitterly over her past romantic experiences (if you could call them that), and thinking about her own lack of experience. After all, why would Kakashi go for someone like her, when he could probably get any girl he wanted? Or she would think about Ino, with all her experience with guys. She would never be like Ino. She would never have that kind of confidence around guys, that innate knowledge that she could have it if she wanted it.

She slumped back into her seat and forced herself to pay attention to the equations on the board in the front of class. She snuck a quick glance at the clock; 5 minutes had never seemed so long. It was Friday, and soon they would be free. Until then, Sakura sighed and returned to Calculus. It sucked to have math last period...

Just as she thought she would have to commit suicide to end this torture, the bell rang. Everyone sprang up suddenly, as though they had been startled awake (in fact, many of them probably had been). Sakura hurriedly packed up her papers, and caught up with Ino at the door, who started babbling excitedly about Homecoming plans.

"Damn, is it that time of year again already?" Sakura asked incredulously. "Better avoid Naruto...I bet he's more hyper than usual, at least if he's serious about the whole Homecoming King thing."

Ino chuckled. "Oh, he is. He even started a group on Facebook. Invited everyone he knew. You wanna go dress shopping today? Or maybe date shopping." Ino winked, and Sakura rolled her eyes. Before she could respond, a smooth voice cut into their conversation.

"Excuse me, could I talk to Sakura for a minute?" It was Sai, the new kid. He had come from an elite private school downtown, and was still a little...well, not shy, for sure. But he wasn't very "assimilated" into Konoha High yet. So, to help him out, Sakura and Naruto had sort of adopted him into their group. He had an odd way of thanking them, though...

Ino shot Sakura a significant glance, stepped back, and nodded. Sakura looked at Sai expectantly, but nothing could have prepared her for what he said next.

"Would you like to go to Homecoming with me?"

She blinked at him, nonplussed. "Wh- uh- really?" He shrugged. "Sure." She smiled tentatively. "Okay, sounds good." He smiled back; it was clearly fake, but she no longer minded. She was used to his odd quirks. "So I guess, I'll see you then."

He nodded. "I'll pick you up at 7ish?" She shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

He turned and exited, leaving Sakura with a pink and squealing Ino. Sakura rubbed her eyes. "Let it out slowly, now...and please don't make it too high-pitched..."

Ino shrieked. "I can't believe you're going with HIM! He's so weird. I mean, he's not ugly- in fact, he looks a lot like Sasu-" She stopped abruptly, and actually looked embarrassed for once in her life. "Sorry, uh..."

Sakura looked annoyed. "Ino, for the love of whatever God that's listening, you can mention his freaking name! I'm not going to break down or anything, you know me! I'm not that little girl anymore. He is- was- probably still is, a total asshole, and now he's gone and he's not coming back. I'm not disillusioning myself about that anymore. And I hope you aren't either!"

Ino shrugged. "Boys are boys, to me. But he really meant something to you. I'm glad you're over the bastard." She smiled. "You would've had ugly kids together anyway."

Sakura laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because that's exactly what I think about when considering potential boyfriends."

Ino brushed the sarcasm off, and changed the subject instantaneously. "So...excited for the soccer sesh with Kakashi tomorrow? I know _I'm _jealous. You are trying to get the mask off, right?"

Sakura laughed. "What I'm doing is trying not to make too big of an ass out of myself on the soccer field. Maybe not get my ass completely handed to me 24/7, that's really what I'm focusing on."

Ino crossed her arms and looked skeptical. "Yeah, right, Forehead. I know-" she stopped suddenly as though someone had slapped some tape over her mouth. Sakura looked concerned. "Um, are you okay, Ino? You're not usually, you know...this quiet...ever..."

A soft chuckle from behind the girls helped Sakura figure out why Ino had shut up so instantly. "Ah...haha, Mr. Hatake, what a...pleasant surprise."

He smirked (at least, it looked like he was smirking- under that mask, for all they knew, he could've been doing anything). "I was hoping to run into you two; the bell rang before you could sign up for projects. What was it you had wanted to do?"

Sakura recovered quickly. "Ah- Ino wanted education and I want STDs." She quickly realized what she had said, and turned pink. Ino snorted, and Kakashi raised an eyebrow. OK, Sakura thought, he was _definitely _smirking.

"Okay," Kakashi said. "But I have to say Sakura- that doesn't sound very healthy. I guess it's a personal choice, though....Also, I'll be seeing you tomorrow afternoon at 3, correct?"

Sakura couldn't help but grin. "Ha. I see what you did there...clever. Yeah, I'll be there."

---

Later that night, the gang of friends decided to go out for some drinks at a local favorite of theirs. After a few rounds of drinks and several messy attempts at flirting (mainly on Naruto and Kiba's parts), it came to Truth or Dare. Of course. Sakura could hold her drink as well as anyone, but after 3 Rum and Cokes and a shot of rather potent vodka, she was pretty far gone. So, it wasn't unexpected for her to choose Dare with very little prompting.

"Ohh, I've got a good one for...for this one...ha. She's seeing a guy tomorrow..well we think he's a guy, she still hasn't con- confider- confirmed it..." Sakura flushed; she knew all too well who Ino was referring to.

"Ino, I don't think that's a...a good idear. Ha. Idear. Deardeardeardear..." She was too incoherent to protest.

"Sakuraaaaaa," Naruto whined. "You agreed to Dare, so you have to take a Dare, no matter what it issssss...."

Ino grinned viciously. "OK, I gottit.... you have to....DUN DUN DUN....unmask Kakashi."

Sakura shook her head. "Aw, he'sh gonna kill me. Actually, so are my parents if they find out I'm sho plastered. Ino, can I sleep over?"

---

A few hours of sleep, several painful headaches, and a shower or two later, Sakura was almost ready to meet Kakashi at the field. She still felt pretty crappy and hungover, but she figured exercise would help. She felt like a stupid little girl again, but she couldn't help it that her heartbeat picked up at the sight of his lanky form leaning against his car. Then she realized he was actually early, and went into shock/cardiac arrest. When she recovered from her surprise, she noticed that he looked grim, and felt a chill run down her spine. Clearly, whatever he had planned for her was not going to be pleasant.

She shook her head and frowned at herself. 'I'm not that little girl anymore,' she told herself sternly. 'I have to focus; I can't let myself get distracted by a stupid little crush. This isn't the time for a lengthly inner debate over whether or not I love him.' She inwardly slapped herself, and then walked forward confidently (at least, she hoped she seemed confident), steeling herself for whatever Kakashi planned to throw at her.

____

O.A.R


	9. I Want You to Want Me

_I want you to want me_

_I need you to need me_

_I'd love you to love me_

_I'll shine up the old brown shoes, put on a brand new shirt,_

_Get home early from work _

_If you say that you love me._

_____

Sakura made her way cautiously over to where Kakashi was standing, arms folded, looking none too pleased. Her thoughts were racing- 'What could I have done to piss him off? Oh crap oh crap, was he at the bar last night? Did Ino tell people about that dare? I'm gonna kill her....' She stopped in front of him, and paused a moment in her frantic speculation to admire the fact that he had chosen the same wardrobe as he had earlier that week.

"So..." she began weakly. "You look happy..." He snorted and fixed his eyes on hers.

"Sakura. Before we begin... we need to talk."

This did nothing to sooth the already panicking girl. She had heard those words a few times before in equally unpleasant circumstances.

Sakura forced herself to calm down before responding. "Okaaaaay.... shoot."

Kakashi sighed. "That quiz on Thursday? You failed."

Their eyes met, and Sakura suppressed the urge to burst out laughing. However, she couldn't prevent a small sigh of relief from escaping her lips. Kakashi raised an eyebrow and she blushed. "You don't seem very crushed, Sakura...were you expecting this little talk to be about something else?"

She "heh"ed and scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "Uhh...what can I say, I'm a senior?" Kakashi snorted again, and walked forward until he was standing right in front of her. Her mouth was suddenly rather dry, she noticed. He leaned down smirking, and whispered in her ear, breath tickling the side of her face, "If you really want to get my mask off, you're gonna have to be a little less transparent than that."

Her face immediately traversed most of the colors on the spectrum. Before she could respond, he pushed her lightly on the arm-

"Tag!"

and raced off.

---

"That man is _impossible_, Ino. Really, I couldn't have possibly picked someone worse. I mean, first I go for Sasuke, the emotionless man-whore (well, I doubt he actually has hormones, but if he'd wanted...whatever, I think you know what I mean). Then I go for Naruto, who literally has girls throwing themselves at him at this point. I mean, at least we're best friends so it's not awkward, but seriously, is there something wrong with me or what? And now it's Kakashi, my teacher, who's nearly twice my age, and have I mentioned- _completely _impossible?!"

Ino waited patiently for her turn. When Sakura finally paused for air, she jumped in. "OK Sakura. I know you needed to get that out, but it'd be nice if you told me what the hell you're talking about. Why is he so impossible?"

Sakura still had her face buried in her hands. "He _knows_, Ino. About the dare, or bet, or whatever. He knows and he thinks it's funny. And I have no idea what to do about it- how to get his mask off."

Ino laughed. "Well that's not so bad. I thought it turned out he's a man-whore too...it's true, you've got terrible taste in guys, personality-wise anyway. But about this Kakashi thing...you really have two options. One- you can ask him to take off his mask."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh, thanks, of course I never thought of doing _that_..."

"Wait Forehead, I'm not done. And if he says no, or laughs at you and tells you to try harder....seduce it out of him."

Sakura choked on her soda, almost spraying it everywhere. "Ino, I'm not you. It's not that easy."

Ino grinned. "That's the secret- yes it is. Face it, you're pretty hot. Obviously not as hot as me- and I've got much nicer boobs, but still. You've got a really pretty face and a great body. You just need some confidence. Believe me."

---

Sakura was planning on staying home that night for some rest and relaxation in the form of a nice, long, hot bath. But one thing was still bugging her from earlier that day.

How did he know about the dare?

That was what prompted her to agree to be the designated driver when Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, TenTen, and Sai invited her out that night. If she stayed sober, maybe she could figure out who it was that tipped Kakashi off. Or- to her embarrassment, her heart beat faster at the very thought- maybe she'd even run into Kakashi.

So that was how she found herself sandwiched between Chouji and Sai in a crowded bar that reeked of spilled beer and cigarettes, the latter of whom was quietly nursing his scotch & soda. Naruto, who was sitting across from them, was getting a more and more shocked expression as Ino whispered in his ear, giggling. TenTen was preoccupied with hitting on a very uncomfortable Shikamaru, who was already looking for escape routes. Sakura had just started scoping out the bar, looking for some clues about Kakashi's informant, when Naruto let out a shriek of surprise.

"EHHHH?! Obsessed-with-dicks is taking Sakura to Homecoming?!?! But... but...WHY? HOW?" Sai looked up from his drink and smirked. "Well, you see, when a guy that actually has a penis, unlike you, likes a girl, they tend to make a move."

Sakura blushed. "Sai, um...you like me?"

He met her eyes, slight surprise on his face. "Sure. I mean, isn't that the point of such a social interaction? To pressure a guy into asking the girl he likes to attend with him?"

He continued before she had the chance to tell him how sweet she thought that was. "And since Hinata is already...infatuated, Ino is insufferable, and TenTen has a crush on Neji, it had to be you!"

Sakura supposed she should be mad at him for being so tactless and insulting, but she couldn't really bring herself to care. She supposed that in light of her Kakashi situation, she should be relieved. So instead of thwacking him on the head like she usually would, she just rolled her eyes. "I swear Sai, you're getting worse and worse."

She leaned back, satisfied, and laughed along with the rest when Ino started berating him in a high pitched, angry squeal. "What do you MEAN, INSUFFERABLE. I am NOT insufferable!"

Sakura had almost forgot about her purpose for coming here, when she heard several all too familiar voices drifting across the room.

"I'm telling you Kakashi, you're playing with fire."

"I don't want to talk about it."

Ino had apparently heard them too, and she shot Sakura a significant glance. When Sakura ignored her, Ino decided to take action. "Sakura...I have to go to the bathroom. You're the sober one, will you help me out here please?"

As soon as they left the table, Ino grabbed Sakura's arm. "This is your chance, Sakura! What are you waiting for? Don't tell me you're backing out now!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. Ino could have such a one-track mind. "Look, now really isn't a good time..."

Ino glared fiercely. "Then when _is_? Look, you aren't a little kid any more. You can make your own decisions now. I shouldn't have to give you pep talks every ten minutes to keep your head off the table. Hell, I'm the drunk dumb blonde here. I'm not talking to you about this any more. It's time to make a decision. Now or never. Now get going. I really have to pee." On that note, she staggered unsteadily towards the bathrooms, leaving Sakura alone with her insecurities.

She swallowed hard. 'Come on. I want this. It's not that hard. Just walk over there, and say...something.' She turned resolutely and headed towards Kakashi, smiling softly at his mop of silver hair, barely visible over the edge of the booth he was in.

Then she stopped abruptly, as though she had walked into a wall.

Sitting next to Kakashi, her arm slung casually around him like it belonged there, head leaning against his shoulder, was an attractive, no, a _hot_ woman. Sakura was floored. So she unhappily closed her gaping mouth, turned right around and walked back to her table.

____

Cheap Trick.


	10. Friday I'm in Love

_Monday you can fall apart,_

_Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart_

_Oh, Thursday doesn't even start_

_It's Friday I'm in love_

____

Upon returning home from a dissatisfying evening of not-partying and not-not-thinking about Kakashi (and his hot date), Sakura retreated to her room for some serious introspection. She got past the parents by using her "that time of month" immunity (she figured this situation merited it), and promptly called Ino, who was awaiting an explanation for the hasty retreat.

"What the hell happened, Forehead? I've never seen anyone backtrack so quickly and awkwardly in my life. I mean, you didn't even say hi!"

Sakura flopped onto her bed, something that was becoming a regular habit. "He had a date, Ino. And _damn_. I don't play for that team, but I can appreciate someone hot regardless of gender. And Ino, when I say she was hot, I mean she was _hot_."

Silence and then a sigh on the other line. "I was worried this would happen. Look, guys will be guys. Everyone needs a little lovin' in their oven now and then." (At this, Sakura choked a little- 'What the hell has Ino been reading lately??') Ino continued, ignoring the strangled sound coming from the other end of the line.

"You can't just give up like that. It was probably nothing more than a one night stand. I'm sure you're upset and discouraged, and believe me, I understand. But just promise me you won't give up. I know you liked him in 10th grade, and I can tell you still really like him a lot now. Maybe you even love him. I don't know, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that it's important to you, and you shouldn't just let go so easily over something petty like this."

There was a long pause, and Ino really hoped Sakura wasn't crying, because the last boy to make Sakura cry was Sasuke, and she really didn't want any parallels to arise between Kakashi and Sasuke...before Ino could complete her inner monologue, Sakura broke the silence.

"Ino...please tell me you're growing up to be an advice columnist. The world needs you."

They both laughed, moods considerably lightened, and decided to call it a night.

---

The weekend seemed to end far too quickly, as weekends have a knack for doing, and it wasn't long before Sakura found herself tracing the familiar route to her 3rd period World History class. Only, if she was being fully honest with herself, she didn't look forward to it quite as much as she usually did.

---

Lucky for Sakura, class passed uneventfully. So maybe she kind of avoided looking at him at all for the entire 45 minutes, but hey, teenage girls are allowed to be weird sometimes, right? And maybe she had sat in the far back when her usual seat was front and center, but- the shrill sound of the bell interrupted her rationalizing.

Before she could make her subtle but hasty exit, a hand grabbed her arm. It was Kakashi; surprise, surprise.

"Hey. Do you have a minute? I wanted to talk to you about something."

Sakura looked at him oddly. She vaguely wondered if he wanted to train some more that afternoon, but had a feeling that wasn't what this was about.

"Yeah, sure, what's up?"

They walked towards his desk, and he began. "I saw you at the bar Saturday night..."

Sakura tried not to let her surprise show, and went for a "politely interested" look. "And?"

"I was surprised you didn't say hi. You seemed to be headed my way... I was just wondering if there was something in particular that you wanted to talk about."

It was like he saw right through her. She wondered how he did it, how he made her feel like a stupid little girl and a capable adult at the same time.

"Ah...I was...well, you see..." Sakura wondered how she could put this diplomatically. "You seemed...occupied."

Kakashi laughed sheepishly and scratched his neck. "Yeah, my sister's in town for the week. She's kinda touchy-feely, I guess I can see how that might have...intimidated you. I hope it was nothing urgent."

She could swear he was mocking her, but it was impossible to tell with that damned mask. Hopefully her sudden elation wasn't too obvious. 'He wasn't hooking up with some random girl that makes me look like something the cat dragged in! CHA! Sakura 1, Kakashi's sex life 0!'

"No, don't worry about it...it wasn't important," she lied, and beat a hasty retreat.

---

Sakura was beginning to remember why she disliked school all over again. Sure, she was a senior, which was super exciting and came with awesome privileges like sneering at underclassmen and being legal/no longer being jailbait, but it was still just the first semester. The college angle was still there, as was the whole "crap why am I taking 189 APs again?" part.

All in all, it was still challenging and stressful and just overall not what it was cracked up to be.

So Sakura thought, it was perfectly normal for her to consider the semi-weekly Kakashi training sessions to be the highlight of her days. After all, it was a great way to let out all of that pent-up anxiety. It had nothing to do with the way he could make her feel, or how good he looked in a wifebeater (the hell?! he has grey hair! it just isn't fair!), or how he always seemed to know what she was thinking, or...

OK.

She could admit it, though only to herself: she was maybe a little bit obsessed.

But it was a healthy obsession. It wasn't like an "I stalk you on Facebook" thing, it was a normal, healthy "I think I just might love you, you hot sensitive amazing jacked manchild, you" type of thing.

What worried her was how transparent she seemed to be. After all, if he could tell that she was jealous about his "hot date" without her even saying anything, it must be painfully obvious that she kind of liked him.

In the end, she decided not to worry about it. It just wasn't worth it. She would see how things played out, and then...well, she'd just have to wait and see.

____

The Cure


	11. I Want You

Alternative title: uncomfortably forced bonding sesh. Sorry this took so long; exams and suchlike got in the way. Also sorry it's kindof a cliffhanger, but I'll have the next one up soon.

_The land of the creeps freshened up and baby faced shaved_

_Put your eyes on me and I know a place where we can get away_

_Just say I want you, exactly like I used to_

_'Cause baby, this is only bringing me down_

____

Having spent hours the previous afternoon catering to Ino's various Homecoming-shopping-related whims, Sakura found herself buried in homework at what could only be considered an obscene hour of the night. Aside from a sarcastic Facebook update (Sakura Haruno wonders how many APs it takes to get to the center of an all-nighter), she was completely on-task, so by 4am she could safely call it a night without worrying about abject failure in 3 different classes.

Needless to say, her alarm did not survive the following morning. May it rest in peace.

Her first two classes passed in a complete daze. Luckily for her, Gai decided it was of the utmost importance to educate his students on vitality and youth "before it was too late," so she didn't have to exert much effort anyway.

She was especially proud of herself for staying awake through History, and even successfully appearing to pay attention. At least, she thought she was successful...when Kakashi called her over after class was done, she started to have second thoughts.

"You look terrible," he informed her.

She grinned. "Always the charmer, huh...anyway, yeah, staying up until 4 in the morning does that to a person."

He crinkled his one visible eye good-naturedly. "Just wanted to make sure you didn't need a pass to the nurse or anything. Oh, and I have that quiz for you; if you can make the necessary corrections and then take a new one, I'll give you a B." She nodded. "It's in the closet, in my bag...could you grab it for me?" He added.

She walked over to the closet on the other side of the room. Either her lack of sleep was affecting her motor skills, or the doorknob was being especially obstinate...with a fierce tug, she wrenched the door away from the wall. After a few seconds of searching, she gave up. "I don't see it..."

Kakashi strode over and opened the door wider to peer in. "Huh, that's weird, I was sure it was in there. And damn this door is heavy..."

Sakura squinted into the semi-darkness (what kind of classroom has a closet this big anyway?) and leaned forward. "Wait, wait, I think I see it-"

In her half-dozing state, she was unable to balance herself in time before she tumbled into the closet. Kakashi panicked, thinking that she had fainted. "Sakura!" he cried, and fully entered the closet, kneeling over the drowsy girl and propping her up against the far wall. "Are you OK??"

She blinked sleepily, her head spinning. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..." A sudden realization hit. "Wait, Kakashi! Don't let the door-" it swung shut with a heavy creak and clicked ominously into place- "close..."

Kakashi rubbed his hand through his hair with relief. "As long as you're OK, don't worry about it. I'm sure I'll be able to force it open."

---

"Kakashi, it's been 10 minutes. Don't you have a 4th period class? If we bang on the door..."

He shook his head wearily (10 straight minutes of trying to force open a locked door that clearly belongs in a castle, not a school, will do that to a person). "It's my break period..."

Sakura shook her head in a vain attempt to clear out the cobwebs. "So what you're saying is..."

"We're stuck here for at least another hour."

---

Several apologies and an uncomfortable silence in which our heroes tried to figure out exactly how they could sit down without any excessive or inappropriate touching later, Sakura's head was dangerously close to Kakashi's shoulder, and her eyes felt like solid gold life-size elephants (heavy). They were both leaning shoulder-to-shoulder against the back of the deceptively small closet, with the tips of their shoes brushing the door. When they thought they heard potential rescuers, they smashed the soles of their feet against the door. However, no noise had been heard in quite some time, hence Sakura's dangerously fluttering eyelids.

Eventually, they both succumbed to the drowsiness of a warm crowded closet.

---

At least a half hour passed before they both began to stir. Kakashi was the first to open his eyes, and upon realizing how they had shifted during their slumber, became very, very awake very, very quickly.

This sudden jolt of awareness was mostly due to his realization that while their positions had started out quite innocently, they were no longer that way at all. Sakura had somehow flipped so she was more or less straddling his thigh, with her arms smushed against his chest and her face buried in the crook of his neck. Somehow while he was asleep, his arms had snaked around her back and curled in her hair a little bit, holding her in place (he mentally berated the traitorous appendages).

He thanked whatever God was listening that he didn't have an, er, wood problem, and tried to disentangle Sakura as gently as possible. Unfortunately, as soon as he removed his arms, she began to stir. Her hands curled into his loose button-down shirt, and she tucked her head down under his chin. Then, she opened her eyes and realized exactly where she was, whose scent she was inhaling deeply and whose chest she was enjoying the feel of against her cheek.

She tripped off his lap hastily, and even in the dim light, Kakashi could see that she was blushing fiercely.

"Uhm," she began.

He couldn't help it, and laughed out loud. She looked so cute and ridiculous, tumbled over with sleep tousled hair, glowing cheeks, and a small smile tugging at her lips at their situation.

"Don't worry about it. We were both asleep, these things happen." He checked his watch. "Well, we're stuck here for at least another half hour...in a closet full of school supplies. I bet we can come up with some way to pass the time."

She laughed, her blush finally fading. "What, is talking to me that horrific of an idea? I'm hurt..." Then an idea hit her. "Well if you're going to be anti-social, I'm going to entertain myself by drawing what I bet you look like under that mask."

She scrounged for a minute before she located the necessary paper and glow-in-the-dark crayons (thinking, we're in a high school for God's sake, why the hell are there glow in the dark crayons?! Oh well, convenient for me), and set to work. He chuckled, and provided several poses for her to sketch before setting to work on the details of the face.

While she was hard at work, Kakashi thought about their relationship. It had long since transcended just plain old student-teacher. He wondered if he should be worried. They were definitely friends, and if she were a little older and he a little younger...if he weren't her teacher... He had stopped trying to deny having feelings for her a while ago, because it was useless to pretend he didn't feel anything when the opposite was clearly true.

He knew better than to make a move; that would be stupid and risky. It could compromise his job and, more importantly (to him), his friendship with Sakura. But at the same time, he couldn't help but wish and hope...maybe, if she made the first move, or gave him some hint...if they could keep a secret until school was out...

Kakashi shook his head frustratedly. This line of thinking wouldn't do any good. There was no point in building up hope, only for it to come crashing back down again. Not that he wasn't used to disappointment; at 29, he had faced more hardships in his life than most people do in their whole life. Still, though...he just wondered, sometimes-

Sakura's excessive throat-clearing interrupted his musings. Once she successfully captured his attention, she proudly waved her art in his face, and burst out laughing at his widened eye.

One of them featured a Kakashi with toothless gums like an old man, and a nose that looked suspiciously like a...much less appropriate part of the body. Another one featured buck teeth (with a carrot in his hand and bunny ears, of course) and no nose at all (at which he raised an eyebrow questioningly. She shrugged and replied with "You never know...").

In the last one, she didn't bother with a detailed sketch of his face, but instead left it blank except for NON-CONFORMIST in block letters covering the same territory as his mask. He smirked; she wasn't too far off with that one. Not that he'd ever admit that to her...

"So," Sakura said. "You gonna keep me in suspense? Or tell me which one is right?"

He gave an amused snort. "None of them, thank God. Can you imagine how terrible it would be to have bunny ears? Or enormous letters instead of facial features..."

Sakura deflated slightly. "So then why DO you wear that mask? You can't be _that _ugly..."

Kakashi grinned. "You wanna know why? Okay, fine, I'll tell you. It's the opposite; I'm just so drop-dead sexy I wouldn't be able to keep the girls off me if I didn't wear this." She interrupted his explanation with a snort of her own.

"No, you don't even understand," he continued, ignoring her teasing disdain. "I'm like... the hottest Jonas Brother crossed with Zac Efron, Heath Ledger, and Johnny Depp."

She burst out laughing at this. "With white hair?"

He frowned. "Silver. It's _distinguished_ looking."

"Ha. Is that why you dyed it that color? You thought it'd make you look sophisticated?"

Kakashi sniffed indignantly. "I'll have you know this color is 100% natural. As is the volume and body, in case you were wondering."

"Prove it," Sakura said, smirking. As soon as the words were out, she blushed furiously, but didn't retract the comment.

Kakashi was completely taken aback. On the one hand, he would absolutely love to take this bait- didn't it basically answer the question that had been torturing him for months now?- but on the other hand..._totally _inappropriate.

Finally, he decided. What the hell, life is short, and I may just be in love with this girl.

"Do you really want me to?" He asked, making his voice dangerously low and leaning a little closer to her. Sakura swallowed at his tone, thinking, I am a BIG girl. For lack of a better response, she whispered into his ear, "Maybe I do."

Kakashi felt like the air was getting a little heavy for his liking, and decided to lighten the situation. "Well unluckily for you, I don't feel like flashing my armpit quite yet; it's a little early in this relationship for something that serious..."

Luckily for him, she took the cue. "That's true, you should at least take me out to dinner first."

They both grinned and felt a little awkward, and that was about to be that except that Kakashi was just burning with curiosity, and decided to open another can of worms.

"Sakura, this might seem odd. I know I'm not really one for deep, heartfelt conversations, but I've been feeling...that is, I've been getting these signals... I'll put it this way. Now is probably the best time for this. If you've got something to say to me, I think you should say it to me. Now."

___

Kings of Leon. If you're actually considering checking out the band, I'd suggest Closer, Manhattan, and/or Use Somebody; I Want You is a little harder than the others to get into.

Also, I did more of Kakashi's point of view here than usual; sorry for switching back and forth all the time, it was the only way I felt like I could really capture both of their experiences.

Next chapter: More awkwardness and terrible but necessary coming out of the closet jokes!


	12. Say It To Me Now

_I'm scratching at the surface now_

_And I'm trying hard to work it out_

_Cause this is what you've waited for_

_So if you have something to say_

_You'd better say it now_

_____

Sakura swallowed; of all the things she had expected him to say, this was not at all it. 'This is it,' she thought to herself. 'If there was anything you ever dreamed about, it was this moment, and here it is, so if you blow it you'll never forgive yourself.'

She took a deep breath and Kakashi looked at her expectantly, and a little...fearfully? His anxiety gave her hope, and calmed her a little, or at least enough that her voice didn't crack with nervousness when she finally gave him the answer.

"Yeah. Actually. I do have something to say. I know the varsity tryouts are coming soon, and I just wanted...you to know that regardless of whether or not I make it, I really..enjoyed training with you, and I'm glad I asked for help."

Kakashi felt bitter disappointment building around the general vicinity of his throat and/or heart.

"Is that all you have to say?"

And that was when Sakura decided that it was now or never, and that it just wasn't right to simply sit back and let life fly by. It was time to take the reigns.

"No. No, it's not." She took another deep breath, and opened her mouth to continue. But before she could go on, they were interrupted by the sound of someone entering the classroom. "Write it down," Kakashi hissed before shoving a piece of paper and glow-in-the-dark crayon into her arms. As she scribbled frantically, he banged loudly on the door. After a fair amount of grunting on the other side, the door was finally forced open ("the hell?! Someone seriously needs to replace this thing...") to reveal a panting Asuma.

"So this is where you were... I found it hard to believe that my star student was really giving in to the temptations of senior year..."

Sakura discreetly slipped the paper into Kakashi's pocket under the pretense of getting up and stretching. "Haha no, you know me; I'm not really the type who skips...I didn't get much sleep last night, so then I fainted and when he came to help me, the door closed on both of us- crap, is 4th period over already?! I missed the whole class??"

Asuma laughed. "Don't worry about it, you can just come in at lunch and make up the work. It shouldn't take long; you're the top in the class, after all. What happened here anyway?"

Sakura got up slowly, stretching her stiff limbs and yawning a little. "I was getting something from the closet when I tripped. Hatake thought I had fainted, and came over to help, but the door closed and locked us in... I was beginning to think we'd never get out."

Asuma whistled, long and low. "Good thing I came along, I guess...anyway, you'd better get to your next class."

Sakura nodded and scurried off without glancing at Kakashi for fear of blushing uncontrollably and/or making a fool of herself.

---

"Where were you??" Ino hissed. It was 5th period, Anatomy, and they were in the middle of taking copious amounts of notes about the human ear. Sakura was in the middle of a rough sketch of the incus when Ino started pestering her (how was it that this girl was in _all _of her classes?!). Sakura had tried her best to ignore her, but it wasn't working at all.

Finally, she scribbled "tell you later, long story" on a piece of paper and shoved it in Ino's direction, hoping to placate her rabidly curious friend. Then she went back to her notes.

---

Kakashi was suffering. His 5 remaining free minutes before 5th period were spent assuring Asuma that everything was fine, and explaining that they had both fallen asleep and nothing had happened beyond that. Then, he had a 45 minute class to teach. The paper of Sakura's felt like it was burning a hole in his pocket. He wanted nothing more than to sit down and read it, but his class was being unusually demanding, and no opportunity presented itself.

After what seemed like an eternity and a half, the class ended, and Kakashi could finally sink into his worn spinny chair and unfold the crumpled piece of paper. His heartbeat was quickening, he could feel the tension. He knew what he wanted it to say, and he knew what he thought it said, but the suspense was killing him, and he couldn't put it off any longer even if he had wanted to.

His fingers were trembling a little as he pulled apart the final fold. There, in hastily crayoned letters, was what he had wanted and hoped for all along.

"I think I might be in love with you"

He couldn't help his lips from twisting into a wry grin as he stared at the words. Relief and a few other nameless emotions swirled around his general chest/heart area.

But now, he was faced with another dilemma, and a somewhat more pressing one at that.

'What to do...'

---

Sakura was fairly certain that she would never be able to look Kakashi Hatake in the eyes again. It just wasn't gonna happen. After telling Ino everything that had happened (and then immediately questioning her judgement in doing so), she had raced through the work in the rest of her classes, trying her best not to think about Kakashi or what he was thinking or what he had probably, by now, read.

She got home and viciously attacked her homework, not pausing for any breaks except for reading a text from Ino reminding her that Homecoming was tomorrow night. Sakura rubbed the back of her head sheepishly; she hadn't really talked to Sai since that night in the bar... 'Oh well, we'll figure stuff out tomorrow I guess.'

She normally didn't hold much stock in school functions, but she was looking forward to Homecoming. For one thing, 2 hours of grinding with a rather attractive guy would hopefully provide a welcome distraction from thoughts of...you know who.

---

Kakashi was about to log off the school computer and call it a day, when it beeped noisily, informing him of a new email. It was Genma, the music teacher, calling in a favor. He apparently had forgot that he agreed to chaperone the dance tomorrow night, and had "scored a date with easily the hottest chick in this god-forsaken town," so "for the love of all things sex-related, and because you owe me big time, take my place chaperoning at Homecoming."

Kakashi sighed. 'It's a good thing we're friends,' he thought with a laugh. 'A good thing for Genma, anyway.' He replied with a grudging "OK, but we are beyond even," and then logged off the computer and headed home to what looked like it was turning out to be a lovely evening of self-pity and microwave dinners. Yes, plural. Kakashi wasn't a fan of school functions or wastes of Friday nights. Besides, he still had to figure out what to do about the Sakura situation.

___

Ooh, dramatic irony....

The song is by Glen Hansard, it's from the movie Once.


	13. Somebody That I Used to Know

_I know you don't think you did me wrong_

_And I can't stay this mad for long,_

_Keeping ahold of what you just let go_

_You're just somebody that I used to know_

_____

Sakura arrived at home that hectic Friday afternoon dreading the preparations in store for her. She showered, shaved, and blow-dried her hair, and was heading for her bedroom wrapped in a fuzzy towel when she was intercepted by her mother.

"So sweetie," her mom began in an expectant voice that most children by the age of 19 come to loathe, "When are you gonna fill me in about your boyfriend?"

Sakura froze, instantly thinking of Kakashi. 'How does she know? What am I supposed to say to that?!'

Her mother continued, oblivious to her daughter's inner torment. "Are you even going to let me and dad meet this Sai boy?"

Sakura breathed an inconspicuous sigh of relief. "Ahaha mom...It's not like that, we're just going as friends."

Her mom shot her a suspicious look, and she laughed. "Mom, please. You know me better than that. Now, I have to go to Ino's and get ready. Don't forget, I'm sleeping over at her place after, so I'll see you tomorrow!"

---

Kakashi was irritated. It was a pretty standard side-effect of having to spend one's Friday night overseeing a horde of sexually frustrated teenagers dry-humping to the rhythm of mediocre rap. Besides, he had other things on his mind. He glanced at the clock; 2 hours before he had to leave. A short nap couldn't hurt....

4 hours later, he awoke with a start. 'Huh,' he thought. 'Looks like I'm a little late...'

---

Sakura had never really thought of Sai as particularly attractive, but she welcomed a distraction from her Kakashi-filled thoughts. She supposed it was normal to be stressing about him, as she hadn't seen him since the closet incident (as she privately referred to it in her head). Who knew what he thought? Maybe she had completely misunderstood, and he wasn't interested in her at all. How was she supposed to face him now? Why did she have to go and tell him, anyway?

Needless to say, it was a relief to be able to bury herself in idle conversation as she and Sai meandered into the crowded gym. Soon after they walked in, the lights dimmed and the music blared. Sakura couldn't help but feel a little flutter of excitement; it had begun.

---

Two hours later, she disentangled herself from Sai and the rest of her friends, and hit up the bathrooms. She peered into the mirrors, frowning with disgust at her sweaty skin. She splashed some water on her face, hoping to cool down- that gym could get really hot, thanks to the packed bodies and the lack of air...

She was getting more and more impatient, but no cooler, so she decided to be proactive and head outside. It was a cool evening, not quite fall but definitely not summer any more. She ran a hand through her hair and stared at the dark parking lot, lost in thought. Suddenly, the peace and quiet was abruptly shattered with the arrival of a loud, flashy white car. Sakura raised an eyebrow, but when it stopped on the curb a foot from where she was standing, her mouth went dry.

'I remember that car...' Sasuke. It was Sasuke. What the hell was he doing here? The car lights went off, and the door opened. Yep, it was definitely Sasuke.

"Hey stranger...long time no see."

Sakura stared.

"I just dropped by to visit, I was feeling nostalgic. What a surprise, seeing you here." He gave her an appraising glance; she was still too nonplussed to respond. "You've changed, you look a lot different."

Sakura blinked. "What... I thought you were in Japan."

Sasuke's lips twitched. "What, no welcome-back hug?"

Without a word, Sakura turned around and made to walk back into the gym. A hand grabbed her arm and spun her none-too-gently around. "Don't act like you didn't miss me."

She narrowed her eyes, irritated. "Sasuke, I haven't seen you in over two years. Like you said, I've changed. Clearly you have too." Her tone implied that this wasn't a good thing. Sasuke ignored her words, and smirked.

"Come on, I'm sure there's something that hasn't changed..." He pulled her closer, and she yanked away angrily. "No, Sasuke, I have changed. I'm not the way I was...are you drunk? This is ridiculous, let--" He silenced her with a short kiss, and she went limp with shock.

"Are you serious?! Is this what you are now? Get the fuck away from me!!"

---

All the way across the parking lot, Kakashi, who had just exited his vehicle, heard some sort of commotion. 'Probably the first of many loud irritating break-ups of the night,' he thought tiredly. He wondered how he could be tired when he had just been asleep for several hours. Maybe his age was catching up to him. He chuckled to himself. Yeah, right.

The yelling got louder, and he craned his neck and started walking faster for a better view. He was about to dismiss it and head inside when he caught a flash of pink hair- Sakura?! Suddenly, he was curious. He moved closer, ducking behind a strategically placed tree to preserve his cover.

---

Sakura was beginning to get seriously shaken, and was about to start yelling for help when Kakashi appeared out of nowhere. In one swift motion, he had pulled Sasuke off her and shoved him against his car. The next thing she knew, he had his arm around her shoulder, and was peering into her face concernedly. She felt tears of relief building in her eyes, and rubbed her face, ashamed.

Before either of them could say anything, the roar of a car starting up alerted them to Sasuke's escape. By the time they had turned around, he was nothing more than two headlight beams fading into the distance.

"Hey..." Kakashi began.

Sakura shook her head, voice choked with emotion. "I just want to get out of here."

Kakashi hugged her gently, rubbing her back comfortingly before letting go. "Alright, let's go."

---

Elliott Smith, one of my all-time favorites.


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